Vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) is a prothrombotic disorder, which has been described as a rare adverse effect of the adenoviral-vectored coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines. The diagnosis is confirmed by the detection of anti-platelet factor 4 (PF4) antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or functional assay in individuals with the appropriate clinical history. Here, we report a case of a patient who presented with a severe intracerebral hemorrhage and thrombocytopenia 14 days after receiving the first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, with negative PF4/heparin antibodies tested with ELISA, but positive heparin-induced platelet activation assay (HIPAA).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Donation after circulatory death (DCD) is a procedure in which after planned withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment (WLST), the dying process is monitored. A DCD procedure can only be continued if the potential organ donor dies shortly after WLST. This study performed an external validation of 2 existing prediction models to identify potentially DCD candidates, using one of the largest cohorts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Controlled donation after circulatory death (cDCD) is a major source of organs for transplantation. A potential cDCD donor poses considerable challenges in terms of identification of those dying within the predefined time frame of warm ischemia after withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment (WLST) to circulatory arrest. Several attempts have been made to develop models predicting the time between treatment withdrawal and circulatory arrest.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The aim of this study was to evaluate the implementation process of a multidisciplinary approach for potential organ donors in the emergency department (ED) in order to incorporate organ donation into their end-of-life care plans.
Methods: A new multidisciplinary approach was implemented in 6 hospitals in The Netherlands between January 2016 and January 2018. The approach was introduced during staff meetings in the ED, intensive care unit (ICU), and neurology department.
We describe a 61-year-old patient with an infected aneurysm of the abdominal aorta due to Salmonella sepsis. Treatment was successful and included aneurysm resection, extensive debridement, and reconstruction of the abdominal aorta using the superficial femoral vein, combined with long-term antibiotic therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 57-year-old immunocompromized female developed a necrotizing fasciitis with sepsis a few days after abdominal complaints and diarrhoea. Surgery was performed because of progressive worsening of the patient's situation and during surgery the decision was made to perform an amputation. After surgery the patient was brought to the intensive care department for a few days.
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